Systems and methods for non-obtrusive adjustment of auditory prostheses

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for performing non-obtrusive, automatic adjustment of an auditory prosthesis are disclosed. A control expression can be detected during a conversation. Upon detection of the control expression, an audio setting adjustment can be selected and applied to the auditory prosthesis. Multiple adjustments can be made in response to identifying multiple control expressions during a conversation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/218,628 filed on Dec. 13, 2018, entitled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORNON-OBTRUSIVE ADJUSTMENT OF AUDITORY PROSTHESES,” which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/947,900, filed Nov.20, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,195,432, entitled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR NON-OBTRUSIVE ADJUSTMENT OF AUDITORY PROSTHESES,” which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/083,065, filedNov. 21, 2014, entitled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NON-OBTRUSIVEADJUSTMENT OF AUDITORY PROSTHESES.” The disclosures of these priorityapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety intothe present application.

BACKGROUND

Hearing loss, which may be due to many different causes, is generally oftwo types: conductive and sensorineural. Sensorineural hearing loss isdue to the absence or destruction of the hair cells in the cochlea thattransduce sound signals into nerve impulses. Various hearing prosthesesare commercially available to provide individuals suffering fromsensorineural hearing loss with the ability to perceive sound. Forexample, cochlear implants use an electrode array implanted in thecochlea of a recipient (i.e., the inner ear of the recipient) to bypassthe mechanisms of the middle and outer ear. More specifically, anelectrical stimulus is provided via the electrode array to the auditorynerve, thereby causing a hearing percept.

Conductive hearing loss occurs when the normal mechanical pathways thatprovide sound to hair cells in the cochlea are impeded, for example, bydamage to the ossicular chain or the ear canal. Individuals sufferingfrom conductive hearing loss may retain some form of residual hearingbecause some or all of the hair cells in the cochlea functionalnormally.

Individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss often receive aconventional hearing aid. Such hearing aids rely on principles of airconduction to transmit acoustic signals to the cochlea. In particular, ahearing aid typically uses an arrangement positioned in the recipient'sear canal or on the outer ear to amplify a sound received by the outerear of the recipient. This amplified sound reaches the cochlea causingmotion of the perilymph and stimulation of the auditory nerve.

In contrast to conventional hearing aids, which rely primarily on theprinciples of air conduction, certain types of hearing prosthesescommonly referred to as bone conduction devices, convert a receivedsound into vibrations. The vibrations are transferred through the skullto the cochlea causing motion of the perilymph and stimulation of theauditory nerve, which results in the perception of the received sound.Bone conduction devices are suitable to treat a variety of types ofhearing loss and may be suitable for individuals who cannot derivesufficient benefit from conventional hearing aids.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods forperforming non-obtrusive, automatic adjustment of an auditoryprosthesis. In embodiments, a control expression can be detected duringa conversation. Upon detecting the control expression, an audio settingadjustment can be selected and applied to the auditory prosthesis. Theembodiments disclosed herein further provide for performing multipleadjustments in response to identifying multiple control expressionsduring a conversation.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The same number represents the same element or same type of element inall drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a method for detecting a controlexpression spoken during conversation and, in response, adjusting theaudio settings of an auditory prosthesis.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method 400 of identifying a controlexpression.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of an exemplary method 500 for determining anaudio setting adjustment.

FIG. 4 is a view of a cochlear implant worn on a recipient.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an internal component of a cochlear implant.

FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a suitable operating environment inwhich one or more of the present examples can be implemented.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a network in which the various systems andmethods disclosed herein can operate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Many recipients of auditory prostheses have problems useful sounds insome sound environments. For example, when in an environment with asignificant number of discrete and 10 inputs (e.g., multipleconversations at a cocktail party), it can be very difficult for arecipient to differentiate their conversation from those around them.Different recipients can also have different hearing difficulties indifferent environments. For example, one recipient can hear well in afirst environment (e.g., a cocktail party), but poorly in a differentenvironment (e.g., a sports arena). Thus, it can be difficult for amanufacturer of a hearing device, auditory prosthesis, or mobile phoneto predict in exactly which situation hearing is difficult for aparticular recipient. To address this, a recipient could adjust thesettings on their device to improve performance, but can be anxious todo so in a social situation. Such adjustments might require therecipient to nod or tap their device to control its operation. Thisbehavior can be observed by others as odd. Indeed, in the context ofauditory prostheses, recipients are often more sensitive about “fittingin” with others and do not want to draw attention to their use of such adevice. In addition, recipients with totally implanted devices might nothave the ability to change settings on an external part without using aremote controller.

A control process that can be used to adjust the output from an auditoryprosthesis is described in this specification. Embodiments of theprocess facilitate discreet setting adjustments by the recipient of anauditory prosthesis without the use of conventional hardware interfaces(such as dials or buttons). An auditory control system affiliated withthe auditory prosthesis monitors the recipient's conversations andadjusts sound processing settings when the control system determinesthat the current output from the auditory prosthesis is inadequate. Thegeneral process can be applied to implanted auditory prostheses andother devices (including non-auditory devices). Some exemplaryapplications and alternate embodiments are outlined later in thespecification.

The auditory prosthesis control system can classify conversationaldialog in two categories: recipient contributions and non-recipientcontributions. The auditory control system evaluates recipientcontributions for indicators of inadequate audio stimulation.Contributions that are determined to originate from another partyinvolved in the conversation are usually discarded by the control system(i.e. the control system is typically not responsive to non-recipientcontributions). Dialog classification can be assisted by existingauditory prosthesis components (such as an implanted microphone) and/ornew components (such recipient voice recognition systems in a soundprocessor or ancillary device). The auditory prosthesis can leverageancillary computing systems (such as a smart phone or body wornaccessory) to facilitate speech recognition and other processingdetailed herein.

The auditory control system detects natural language indicators used bythe recipient during conversational dialog that are indicative ofcompromised hearing. The indicators are usually designated controlexpressions that perform dual functions in that they indicate to theauditory control system that the auditory output is inadequate for thecurrent environment, and they form a contribution to an ongoingconversation. The control expressions are typically selected fromphrases used in common parlance to indicate difficulty hearing, such as“excuse me?”, “pardon me?”, “please repeat that”. Other parties involvedin the conversation would not necessarily know that the recipient issimultaneously issuing a command to the recipient's auditory prosthesisand participating in the conversation.

The auditory control system uses a speech processor to evaluate therecipient's dialog and detect designated control expressions that formpart of an ongoing conversation. This process is typically performedwithout intervention from the recipient (i.e. the recipient does notneed to use a conventional interface, such as a button or dial, toinitiate speech recognition). The speech processor uses a speechrecognition algorithm to differentiate affirmative use of controlexpressions from dialog that incidentally includes control expressions.For example, the control expression “what” can indicate that therecipient is experiencing difficulty hearing, or form part of a widerdialog (such as “what did you have for dinner?”) that is not intended tobe a control expression to the auditory prosthesis.

As indicated above, many auditory prosthesis recipients have problemsdifferentiating desirable sounds from undesirable sounds in some soundenvironments. These problems can be addressed, for example, by noisereduction management, a compressor system to give the best amplificationfor signals with loudness close to normal speech, beam forming, andother modifications to stimulation output, sound processing, etc. Also,a sound environment can be classified by the device (for example, as therecipient enters a new environment or the existing environment changes).Such a classification can activate different features of the prosthesisso as to optimize sound processing and stimulation based on presetcriteria. Still, there are situations where a recipient does not hearwhat is said or what she wants to hear. As described above, real-timeadjustment of the auditory prosthesis can be awkward for a recipient, somuch in fact that the recipient can choose to forego better availableperformance so as not to draw attention to her use of a prosthesis.

Embodiments of the proposed technology contemplate a device (e.g., anauditory prosthesis, mobile phone, etc.) that detects when the recipientutilizes certain control expressions and automatically adjusts one ormore settings based on the detected control expression. In a particularembodiment, the control expression can be a natural language expressionsuch as, for example, a word, phrase, or sound spoken in a typicalconversation, which would otherwise indicate that the recipient ishaving a difficult time hearing a speaker. By saying “what?”, “comeagain?”, “huh?”, or “could you repeat that?”, for example, the deviceautomatically adjusts one or more settings (sound processing,stimulation output, or otherwise) of the device automatically. Othersimilar control expressions, parts of interrogative pronomen, as well ascontrol expressions in a variety of languages, can also be detected. Byfocusing on control expressions that are also characterized as typicalspeech expressions, the recipient can ask for parts of a conversation tobe repeated or participants in the conversation to speak up, whilesimultaneously commanding the device to make adjustments to settings,without drawing attention to herself as a user of the device, e.g., as arecipient of an auditory prosthesis.

In one implementation, the device can recognize such control expressionsby a speech recognition feature. Such a feature can detect syllables orportions of speech using a hidden Markov model or other models. Otherspeech detection methods can be utilized. Speech recognition and/orother speech detection processing is typically activated by the devicewithout direct intervention from the recipient via a conventionalhardware interface. The device can automatically match speech processingcapabilities to the recipient's sound environment by adjustingparameters of the speech processing algorithms used to detect controlexpressions. The parameter adjustments can be derived from environmentalclassifications (used in some hearing prostheses to refine soundprocessing) and/or other usage characteristics. For example, the devicecan increase the sampling rate used for speech detection when therecipient is talking or the environmental classification is “speech”,reduce the sampling rate when the device determines the recipient hasnot spoken for a defined time interval, and/or temporarily deactivatespeech detection when the environmental classification is “quiet”. Thisreduces power and processing overheads when the device determines thatintensive speech processing is not needed.

The device can perform other functionality, such as detecting changes infrequency content within a wording of a phrase such as, for example,changes to the detected formants of speech and/or other changes offrequency response/spectra. Such functionality allows the device todetect how the frequency content changes within spoken wording. Thisenables the device to detect the difference between, as example, “what”as part of a question and “what” as an expression of a hearingdifficulty. That is, the device can detect the so-called “melody ofspeech” that typically accompanies inquiries and recognize that suchinquiries are unrelated to control expressions. In another example, thedevice can detect the frequency components from surrounding wordsoccurring within a defined time frame and compare these frequencycomponents with the control expression. Thus, minor variations in acontrol expressions (e.g., “what was that you said?” versus “what wasthat?”) can be detected and acted upon by the device. Other methods canbe considered, for example, by detecting the time in between wordoccurrence. The device can also utilize on-board sensors (vibration,sound, etc.) to ensure that the control expression is coming from therecipient and not a different speaker.

When such a control expression is detected, the device can change anynumber of settings to adjust the output received by the recipient. Foran advanced recipient, certain settings adjusted can be associated withdifferent control expressions. For example, “what was that?” can beassociated with loudness for the frequency currently having the best orworst signal to noise ratio, while “could you repeat that?” can beassociated with changing the width of a beam former. Repetition of thesame control expression in certain embodiments can result in successivechanges to the same setting. After changing settings, the device cancontinue to detect control expressions, certain of which can be used toundo a previous setting change. The recipient can also utilize certaincontrol expressions after a setting change so as to identify a preferredsetting change. For example, saying “I understand you”, or other controlexpression, can be detected by the device as a preference by the userfor the particular setting change that was made. Alternatively oradditionally, the device can undo one or more audio setting changesbased on the passage of time or an action of the recipient in relationto defined periods of time. For example, the device can reverse speechsetting adjustments (such as reverting from beamforming) when (a) adefined period of time after issuance of the control expression passes,(b) a defined period of quiet time (e.g., a period of time with nodialog after issuance of the control expression), or (c) the recipientinteracts with controls of the prosthesis within a relatively shortperiod of time after issuance of the control expression passes (e.g., 10seconds), but not if the recipient interacts with the controls within arelatively long period of time (e.g., 30 seconds).

The device can associate control expressions issued by the recipient torecent changes in the recipient's sound environment. This facilitatesautomatic readjustment of audio settings when a disturbance is removed.For example, the device can revert to a previous setting state afterdetecting a sustained reduction in the level of background noise (suchas music or traffic noise). An absence of a previously-detectedbackground noise can initiate a similar reversion. The device is alsocapable of applying setting adjustments derived from the recipient'scontrol expressions to discrete sound sources in the local soundenvironment (such as a soft talker or sustained background noise). Forexample, the device can identify the source of individual contributionsto a conversation (typically using speech formants or the directionalityof the source) and adjust the audio settings for sound originating froma designated participant responsive to an associated control expression.The device can use discrete audio setting adjustments to refine theoverall sound environment (such as by reducing the perceived volume ofneighboring conversations) and/or enhance discrete sound components(such as increasing the gain used for a softly-spoken conversationparticipant).

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a method 100 for detecting acontrol expression spoken during conversation and, in response,adjusting the audio settings of an auditory prosthesis. The method 100can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination ofhardware and software, such as the hardware and software describedherein in relation to FIGS. 4-7. Accordingly, the method 100 can beperformed by an auditory prosthesis, a device (e.g., a smartphone) incommunication with an auditory prosthesis, or a combination of devicesand/or auditory prostheses. For example, an auditory prosthesis withlimited charge and/or processing power can leverage a device withoutsuch limitations that comes with speech recognition software to performone or more of the operations described with respect to FIG. 1.

Flow begins at operation 102 where a conversation is analyzed. Inembodiments, analyzing a conversation includes analyzing audio input andidentifying the start and end of a conversation, which will includespeech by the recipient and by another person. The audio input can bewords or phrases that humans use to communicate with each other. Inembodiments, analyzing the conversation includes identifying at leasttwo speakers engaged in the conversation. Furthermore, analyzing theconversation can include identifying which words and phrases are spokenby a recipient of an auditory prosthesis. In still other embodiments,analyzing the conversation can include identifying information about theenvironment in which the conversation is taking place or identifying andcategorizing multiple sound inputs as conversation, ambient noise,transient environmental conditions (e.g., a siren), etc. For example,operation 102 can include:

-   -   collecting information about ambient noise, background noise,        and other data related to environmental characteristics or        stimuli;    -   performing operations, such as identifying the presence of wind,        identifying the presence of additional speakers and/or the        loudness of surrounding speech, autocorrelation of the        environment, identifying tonality, performing logPowerSpectrum,        identifying spectral jaggedness, detecting distortion, timbre,        duration of sounds, phase of sounds, and/or signal to noise        ratio (SNR), determining a zero-crossing rate, and/or        determining a minima/maxima of periodogram;    -   analyzing sound related to tonotopy, diachronic change of        speech, and/or content of phonemes;    -   comparing sound environment properties with database recordings,        inharmonicity, repetition pitch, and/or fundamental frequencies        and overtones/harmonics; and/or    -   determining a reciprocal of the time interval between events in        the sound, speech/sound formants, speech, spectral density,        pitch, Spectral Peak distortion, Modulation Depth, crest factor,        pure tone content in comparison to noise, and/or any derivatives        related to such determinations.

Analyzing the conversation in operation 102 can involve distinctprocessing operations and/or include recording the conversation forsubsequent processing. The recorded information can be used to determinethe context in which a control expression was spoken and refine initialaudio setting adjustments. For example, the device can adjust basicaudio settings (such as bass/treble levels, perceived volume control andnoise reduction profile) in real-time or close to real-time responsiveto a control expression, and subsequently refine the audio settingadjustment (including more sophisticated adjustments) followingsubstantive processing using a recorded segment of the conversation. Therecorded information can also be used to associate the controlexpression with a change in the recipient's sound environment (such as asoft talker or transient noise) and/or aggressively adjust audiosettings in response to repeated directives from the recipient. Inembodiments, an entire conversation can be recorded or a portion of aconversation can be recorded (e.g., the last 10 seconds of aconversation can be buffered).

In further embodiments, recording of the conversation can be triggeredby detection of a control expression. For example, when a controlexpression is detected, conversation that took place within apredetermined time frame before and/or after detection of the controlexpression can be recorded. This functionality can be used by therecipient to discreetly store information (such as a name, address orevent). For example, the recipient can use the control expression “whatdid you say your name is?” to get the other party to repeat their nameand have the device record that portion of conversation.

The multiple audio inputs (in the form of conversations, unrelatedspeech, environmental conditions, transient sounds, etc. are monitoredfor the presence of a control expression, as depicted in operation 104.A lack of control expression returns the method 100 to analysis 102.

In one embodiment, a control expression is a natural language expressioncommonly spoken in conversation. In one embodiment, identifying thecontrol expression comprises comparing one or more natural languageexpressions, or subcomponents of a natural language expression, againsta dictionary and/or grammar. The dictionary and/or grammar can includewords and phrases that are commonly spoken by a person when the personis having a difficult time hearing a speaker. For example, thedictionary or grammar can include the following words and/or phrases:“what?”, “come again?”, “huh?”, or “could you repeat that?”. In otherembodiments, the dictionary or grammar can include natural languageexpressions from other languages. In such embodiments, a controlexpression is identified when a word and/or phrase from the conversationmatches a word and/or phrase included in the dictionary and/or grammar.Furthermore, as previously discussed, the recipient can select and/ordefine the control expressions that can be identified. For example, therecipient can define additional words or phrases as control expressionsthat the embodiments disclosed herein can identify and, in response,perform an action. As such, in embodiments, a recipient can define acustom dictionary and/or grammar based upon the recipient's personalexpressions. In an alternate embodiment, identification of a controlexpression can be based upon a context in which the control expressionwas spoken. Determining the context in which a control expression caneliminate false positives. For example, the control expression “what?”can indicate that a recipient is having difficulty hearing but it canalso be completely unrelated to the recipient's ability to hear. Thecontext in which the control expression was spoken can be used toaddress such ambiguities. In such embodiments, once a control expressionis detected, the audio input received before the control expression(e.g., a natural language expression) is compared to the audio inputreceived after the control expression. If the audio input before andafter the control expression are the same, e.g., if a second person inthe conversation repeated what was said before the control expressionwas spoken, the control expression can be validated as being related toa recipient's ability to hear.

In further embodiments, identification of a control expression can beperformed by detection of the tone voice to determine whether a question(e.g., a control expression) was asked. For example, when a person asksa question, she often increases the pitch and/or frequency of her voiceat the end of the question. Additionally, the amplitude at the beginningof a question is often detectably higher at the beginning of a phrasethan at the end of a phrase. Additionally, questions in which one personasks another to repeat herself are often short. Thus, identification ofa control expression can include detecting a start and end time of aphrase and determining whether or not the phrase was a question based onthe length of the phrase. Additional embodiments of identifying acontrol phrase are described with respect to FIG. 2. While exemplarymethods for identifying a control expression are described herein, oneof skill in the art will appreciate that any or all of these methods canbe employed at operation 104. Furthermore, other methods of identifyinga control expression can be employed at operation 104 without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

Upon identification of the control expression, flow continues tooperation 106 where an audio setting adjustment is determined inresponse to identifying the control expression in operation 104. In oneembodiment, one or more adjustments to the audio settings of an auditoryprosthesis can be determined at operation 106. The determination of theadjustments can be based on the surrounding environment. Informationabout the surrounding environment can be collected at operation 102, aspreviously described, or can be collected at operation 106. In alternateembodiments, the determination of a setting adjustment can be based on apredefined hierarchy of audio setting adjustments. In such embodiments,the predefined hierarchy selected to determine the audio settingadjustment can be selected based upon the surrounding environment, oreven be present at the time of manufacture and/or programing.Alternatively, an adjustment hierarchy can be set based on userpreferences and/or based on the type of auditory prosthesis. The type ofaudio setting adjustment can vary depending on the type of auditoryprosthesis. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the method 100 can be performed ina continuous loop. As such, multiple audio setting adjustments can beapplied if a recipient continues to have difficulty hearing. In suchembodiments, the order in which the different audio setting adjustmentsare made is determined based upon the hierarchy. Furthermore, apredetermined threshold can be defined for each type of audio settingadjustment. For example, a continued increase in gain can result indiscomfort for the recipient. As such, a predetermined threshold (e.g.,10-15 decibels) can be defined to prevent an audio setting adjustmentthat can lead to discomfort. Exemplary audio setting adjustments caninclude change in volume (gain), adjustment in gain for a frequency thathas the best or worst signal to noise ratio currently or at the time thecontrol expression was identified, adjustment to the width of a beamformer, selection of a noise reduction algorithm (or a different noiseadjustment algorithm), adjustment to the aggressiveness of a noisereduction algorithm, etc. One of skill in the art will appreciate thatany type of audio setting adjustment can be determined at operation 106.Additional embodiments related to determination of an audio settingadjustment are further described with respect to FIG. 3.

Upon determining an audio adjustment at operation 106, flow continues tooperation 108 where one or more audio setting adjustments are applied toan auditory prosthesis of the recipient. In one embodiment, the method100 can be performed by a device in communication with the auditoryprosthesis. For example, voice recognition software that is commonlyincluded with mobile phones can be leveraged to determine whether or nota control expression was spoken. In such embodiments, applying the oneor more auditory setting adjustments can include sending an instructionto the auditory prosthesis from a client device (e.g., a smartphone, atablet, etc. as described herein in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7) tomake the determined audio setting adjustment. As such, an auditoryprosthesis with limited resources (e.g., memory, power, processingcapability, etc.) can leverage the resources of an external device toautomatically adjust the auditory prosthesis. In alternate embodiments,for example, if the method 100 is performed by an auditory prosthesisitself, the auditory prosthesis can directly apply the audio settingadjustment at operation 108. The audio setting adjustment applied atoperation 108 can be applied by the auditory prosthesis to generateaudio output. One of skill in the art will appreciate that the audiooutput generated by the auditory prosthesis can vary depending on thetype of auditory prosthesis. For example, audio output generated by atraditional hearing aid (e.g., airborne sound waves initiated by asingle receiver) is different from audio output generated by a cochlearimplant (e.g., electric stimulation of the cochlea delivered by aplurality of contacts). However, the aspects disclosed herein can beemployed to adjust audio settings (and thus affect audio output) for anytype of auditory prosthesis.

Flow continues to operation 110 where a determination is made as towhether the applied audio setting adjustment should be undone. Forexample, if the recipient does not like the audio setting adjustment,she can instruct the auditory prosthesis to reverse the audio settingadjustment and return to a prior setting. For example, the recipient canpress a button or interact with an interface to the auditory prosthesisthat instructs the auditory prosthesis to undo the adjustment. In analternate embodiment, an audio input can be received that indicate thatthe adjustment should be undone. For example, the recipient can say“ouch” to indicate that the adjustment should be reversed. In oneembodiment, a threshold of time around the adjustment can be set. If theindication to undo the adjustment is received within the predeterminedtime period, the adjustment can be undone. Conversely, if theinstruction is received after the predetermined time period there is alikelihood that the adjustment is appropriate and the instruction hasbeen received in error. As such, in embodiments, the adjustment cannotbe undone if the instruction is received outside of the predeterminedtime period.

If a determination is made to undo the adjustment, the adjustment isundone at operation 110. The audio setting adjustment can be stored atoperation 112 for future use, then the method returns to operation 102to continue analysis of the conversation. In alternate embodiments,information related to undoing of the adjustment can be saved for futureuse, similar to operation 112 described below. For example, embodimentsdisclosed herein can use such information in the future when selectingthe type of adjustments to apply (e.g., not selecting the adjustmentsthat were previously undone). Furthermore, the information can later beaccessed by a hearing care professional or the recipient to analyzewhich changes made to the device were successful or unsuccessful.

Alternatively, the recipient may say “I heard that!” after applicationof the setting adjustment. This control expression indicates to thedevice that the setting adjustment has been effective. In embodiments,if the adjustment is to be maintained flow continues to operation 112.At operation 112, the audio setting adjustments are saved for futureuse. Again, the audio setting adjustment can be stored along withcharacteristics about the surrounding environment. By doing so, the nexttime the characteristics about the surrounding environment are detected,the audio adjustments can be automatically applied. After saving theadjustments, flow returns to operation 102 and the method 100 continues.

One of skill in the art will appreciate that the method 100 can beperformed in a continuous loop, which enables automatic adjustment ofaudio settings throughout the entire duration of the recipient'sconversation with others. Additionally, one of skill in the art willappreciate that flow can pass directly from operation 102 or anotheroperation to operation 110 or another operation. In other words,operation 110 might not directly follow operation 104. For instance, ifa transient, loud noise (e.g., a bus passing nearby) prevents therecipient from hearing another participant of the conversation speaking,the audio settings adjustment might be undone once the loud noise ends.In such scenarios, the flow might pass directly from operation 102, inwhich the beginning and end of the transient noise is detected, tooperation 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method 200 of identifying a controlexpression. The method 200 can be implemented using hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software. In embodiments, the method200 can be performed by an auditory prosthesis, a device incommunication with an auditory prosthesis, or a combination of devicesand/or auditory prostheses. In embodiments, the method 200 can beperformed at operation 104 of FIG. 1. The method can be performed inplace of or in addition to the different embodiments related toidentifying a control expression discussed with respect to operation 104of FIG. 1. Flow begins at operation 202 where a control expression isidentified. The control expression can be identified as described withrespect to operation 102 of FIG. 1. In embodiments, upon detection of acontrol expression, flow continues to operation 204 where adetermination is made as to whether or not the control expression isspoken by the recipient of an auditory prosthesis. In one embodiment,the determination can comprise identifying at least two of differentspeakers in a conversation, where at least one of the identifiedspeakers is the recipient. Identification of the different speakers ishelpful to distinguish whether a potential control expression was spokenby the recipient or by another person in the conversation (or in anunrelated, nearby conversation) to ensure that adjustments are appliedproperly to an auditory prosthesis. For example, if the potentialcontrol expression was spoken by another person in the conversation, itis not necessary to make an adjustment to an auditory prosthesis becausethere is no indication that the recipient is having difficulty hearing.Such a potential control expression is disregarded.

In another embodiment, the determination made at operation 204 can bemade based on identification of the recipient. In aspects of suchembodiments, the recipient can be identified by associating a vibrationwith the control expression. For example, if the auditory prosthesis isa bone conduction device, the auditory prosthesis can detect vibrationsthat are generated by the recipient speaking. Some such devices includea component coupled to the recipient to impart vibrations to therecipient for the purpose of generating the perception of sound. In somesuch devices, vibrations generated by the recipient, particularly whenwords are spoken by the recipient, travel through the coupled componentto the auditory prosthesis where they are detected and confirm that therecipient spoke. In other auditory prostheses, a subcutaneous microphoneis particularly well suited to detect bone conducted vibrations,particularly when words are spoken by the recipient. If the controlexpression is related to, coincides with, or is otherwise associatedwith detection of vibrations corresponding to the recipient speaking(e.g., vibrations with amplitude that exceeds a certain threshold) thena determination can be made that the control expression was spoken bythe recipient.

In another embodiment, other methods can be employed to determinewhether the control expression was spoken by the recipient. For example,multiple microphones can be used to determine the direction oforigination of the control expression. If the direction of originationcorresponds to a position of the mouth of the recipient, then it canindicate that the recipient spoke the control expression. Additionally,the volume of the control expression can indicate that it was spoken bythe recipient (e.g., words spoken by the recipient can be distinctlylouder). In yet another embodiment, the determination can be made basedon the tone of voice. For example, a device performing the method 200can be trained to recognize the voice of the recipient, for example,through the recipient reciting natural language expressions duringinitialization or setup of the device. If the control expression is notspoken by the recipient, flow branches NO and can return to operation102 of FIG. 1 and the device can continue to analyze the conversation.On the other hand, if the control expression is spoken by the recipient,flow branches YES and can proceed to operation 106 where one or moreaudio setting adjustments are determined.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of an exemplary method 300 for determining anaudio setting adjustment. In embodiments, the method 300 can beperformed by an auditory prosthesis, a device in communication with anauditory prosthesis, or a combination of devices and/or auditoryprostheses. In embodiments, the method 300 can be performed at operation106 of FIG. 1. The method can be performed in place of or in addition tothe different embodiments related to identifying a control expressiondiscussed with respect to operation 106. Flow begins at operation 302where an adjustment hierarchy is selected. The adjustment hierarchy candefine the types and order of adjustment to automatically apply upondetection of a control expression. In embodiments, multiple adjustmenthierarchies can be defined. For example, adjustment hierarchies can bedefined based on an environment, based upon the type of auditoryprosthesis, and/or based upon user preference. In further embodiments,additional device sensors (e.g., accelerometers, cameras, etc.) can beemployed with the embodiments disclosed herein to provide additionalinformation that can be used to determine what type of adjustmentsshould be made. For example, the device can combine the output from anaccelerometer with wind noise detection to determine that the recipientis travelling at elevated speed (such as running, cycling, or travellingin an open-top vehicle) and apply an appropriate setting adjustment.

For example, a hearing prosthesis adjustment hierarchy can comprise acombination of the following operations:

-   -   Adjust a noise reduction algorithm or the noise reduction        algorithm selection (e.g., a more aggressive noise reduction        algorithm such as an impulse and/or single channel noise        reduction algorithm).    -   Increase amplification.    -   Further increase amplification if possible, otherwise decrease        non-speech frequencies.    -   Increase amplification of speech frequencies (approximately 500        Hz-3 kHz).    -   Increase maximum output.    -   If utilizing a directionality system, narrow the beam to pick up        sounds from a focused sound field or source.    -   Perform a speech enhancement algorithm.    -   If in a windy environment, apply a wind reduction algorithm.    -   Change the environment classification. For example, if the an        environmental classifier determines that the environment is a        “speech” environment but the recipient still appears to have        trouble hearing, then the environment may be reclassified as a        different environment (e.g., “speech in noise”, “noise, “wind”,        etc.) and adjustments can be made based upon the new environment        classification. Additional embodiments related to the detection        and/or classification of environmental characteristics are        provided with respect to FIG. 1.    -   Based on analysis of the current/past input frequency spectra or        decrease other frequencies. For example, based upon prior        conversation, the frequency spectra/response changes of a person        may be identified and stored. In a noisy environment, the        identified frequency spectra and/or response changes may be        amplified in order to make it easier to hear the known speaker        in a noisy environment. Alternatively, frequency spectra and/or        response changes not associated with a known speaker may be        turned down.    -   Increase gain. For example, apply an aggressive feedback        reduction algorithm to match increase of amplification.

While exemplary operations that can be incorporated in adjustmenthierarchies are described herein, one of skill in the art willappreciate that other adjustment hierarchy operations can be employedwithout departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Afterselecting an adjustment hierarchy, flow continues to decision operation304 where a determination is made as to whether an adjustment hasalready been applied to the auditory prosthesis. If not, flow branchesNO to operation 306 and the first adjustment setting is selected fromthe adjustment hierarchy. If an adjustment setting has been previouslyapplied, flow branches and the next adjustment from the adjustmenthierarchy is selected to be applied to the auditory prosthesis. Flowcontinues from both operations 306 and 308 to operation 310. Atoperation 310, an indicator of the selected adjustment setting selectedat either operation 306 or 308 is stored. The indicator can be used todetermine whether a prior adjustment has been applied at operation 304and to select the next adjustment from the adjustment hierarchy atoperation 308.

The technologies disclosed herein can be used in conjunction withvarious types of auditory prostheses, including active transcutaneousbone conduction devices, passive transcutaneous devices, middle eardevices, cochlear implants, and acoustic hearing aids, or other devicesacting as an auditory prosthesis. The devices can be wearable (i.e.,entirely external to the recipient), partially implanted or totallyimplantable (either in or on the head, including in specific portions ofthe anatomy, e.g., in the mouth or below the skin of the skull).Additionally, the technologies can be incorporated into other devicesthat process sound for a member of a conversation. For example, dualpurpose control expressions can be used to, e.g., control the volume ofa mobile phone while it is being used “hands-free” (such as while theuser is driving). The person the recipient is speaking to would notnecessarily be aware that the recipient has used a control expression orthat the volume of the mobile phone has been adjusted. The correspondingstimulus generated by the device can be in the form of electricalsignals, mechanical vibrations, or acoustical sounds.

FIG. 4 is a view of a cochlear implant 400 worn by a recipient 401. Thecochlear implant 400 includes an internal component 444 typically havingan internal receiver/transceiver unit 432, a stimulator unit 420, and anelongate stimulating assembly 418. The internal receiver/transceiverunit 432 permits the cochlear implant 400 to receive and/or transmitsignals to an external device 426 and includes an internal coil 436, andpreferably, a magnet (not shown) fixed relative to the internal coil436. Internal receiver unit 432 and stimulator unit 420 are hermeticallysealed within a biocompatible housing, sometimes collectively referredto as a stimulator/receiver unit. The magnets facilitate the operationalalignment of the external and internal coils, enabling internal coil 436to receive power and stimulation data from external coil 430. Elongatestimulating assembly 418 has a proximal end connected to stimulator unit420, and a distal end implanted in cochlea 440. Stimulating assembly 418extends from stimulator unit 420 to cochlea 440 through mastoid bone419.

In certain examples, external coil 430 transmits electrical signals(e.g., power and stimulation data) to internal coil 436 via a radiofrequency (RF) link, as noted above. Internal coil 436 is typically awire antenna coil comprised of multiple turns of electrically insulatedsingle-strand or multi-strand platinum or gold wire. The electricalinsulation of internal coil 436 is provided by a flexible siliconemolding (not shown). In use, implantable receiver unit 432 can bepositioned in a recess of the temporal bone adjacent auricle 410 of therecipient. Various types of energy transfer, such as infrared (IR),electromagnetic, capacitive and inductive transfer, can be used totransfer the power and/or data from external device to cochlear implant.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an internal component 544 of a cochlearimplant. The internal component 544 has a stimulator/receiver unit 502that receives encoded signals from an external component of the cochlearimplant. Internal component 544 terminates in a stimulating assembly 518that comprises an extra-cochlear region 510 and an intra-cochlear region512. Intra-cochlear region 512 is configured to be implanted in therecipient's cochlea and has disposed thereon a contact array 516. In thepresent example, contact array 516 comprises both optical contacts 520and electrical contacts 530. Present commercial devices offered by theindustry use electrical contacts, research has identified the potentialuses of optical stimulation alone or in conjunction with electrical orother stimulation mechanisms.

Internal component 544 further comprises a lead region 508 couplingstimulator/receiver unit 502 to stimulating assembly 518. Lead region508 comprises a region 504 which is commonly referred to as a helixregion, however, the required property is that the lead accommodatemovement and is flexible, it does not need to be formed from wire woundhelically. Lead region also comprises a transition region 106 whichconnects helix region 504 to stimulating assembly 518. As describedbelow, optical and/or electrical stimulation signals generated bystimulator/receiver unit 502 are delivered to contact array 116 via leadregion 508. Helix region 504 prevents lead region 508 and its connectionto stimulator/receiver 502 and stimulating assembly 518 from beingdamaged due to movement of internal component 444 (or part of 444) whichcan occur, for example, during mastication.

FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a suitable operating environment 600in which one or more of the present embodiments can be implemented. Thisis only one example of a suitable operating environment and is notintended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality. Other well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that can be suitable for use include, but are not limitedto, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmableconsumer electronics such as smart phones, network PCs, minicomputers,mainframe computers, tablets, distributed computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like. Inembodiments, an auditory prosthesis includes a processing unit andmemory, such as processing unit 606 and memory 604. As such, the basicconfiguration 606 is part of an auditory prosthesis and/or anotherdevice working in conjunction with the auditory prosthesis.

In its most basic configuration, operating environment 600 typicallyincludes at least one processing unit 602 and memory 604. Depending onthe exact configuration and type of computing device, memory 604(storing, among other things, instructions to implement and/or performthe modules and methods disclosed herein) can be volatile (such as RAM),non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.), or some combination ofthe two. This most basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 6 bydashed line 606. Further, environment 600 can also include storagedevices (removable, 608, and/or non-removable, 610) including, but notlimited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Similarly, environment600 can also have input device(s) 614 such as touch screens, keyboard,mouse, pen, voice input, etc. and/or output device(s) 616 such as adisplay, speakers, printer, etc. Also included in the environment can beone or more communication connections, 612, such as LAN, WAN, point topoint, Bluetooth, RF, etc.

Operating environment 600 typically includes at least some form ofcomputer readable media. Computer readable media can be any availablemedia that can be accessed by processing unit 602 or other devicescomprising the operating environment. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computerstorage media includes, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, solid state storage, or any othertangible or non-transitory medium which can be used to store the desiredinformation. Communication media embodies computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer readable media.

The operating environment 600 can be a single device operating in anetworked environment using logical connections to one or more remotedevices. The remote device can be an auditory prosthesis, a personalcomputer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or othercommon network node, and typically includes many or all of the elementsdescribed above as well as others not so mentioned. The logicalconnections can include any method supported by available communicationsmedia. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices,enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

In some embodiments, the components described herein comprise suchmodules or instructions executable by operating environment 600 that canbe stored on computer storage medium and other tangible mediums andtransmitted in communication media. Computer storage media includesvolatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.Combinations of any of the above should also be included within thescope of readable media. In some embodiments, computer system 600 ispart of a network that stores data in remote storage media for use bythe computer system 600.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a system 700 in which the various systems andmethods disclosed herein can operate. In embodiments, a client device,such as client device 702, can communicate with one or more auditoryprostheses, such as auditory prosthesis 704, via a network 806. Inembodiments, a client device can be a laptop, a personal computer, asmart phone, a PDA, a netbook, a tablet computer, a server or any othertype of computing device, such as the computing device in FIG. 7. Inembodiments, the client device 702 and the auditory prosthesis 704 maycommunicate via communication channel 706. Communication channel 706 canbe any type of network capable of facilitating communications betweenthe client device 702 and the auditory prosthesis 704. Examples of acommunication channel can be an RF connection, a Bluetooth connection, aWiFi connection, or any other type of connection capable of transmittinginstructions between client device 702 and auditory prosthesis 704.

In embodiments, the various systems and methods disclosed herein can beperformed by an auditory prosthesis, e.g., auditory prosthesis 704, aclient device, e.g., client device 702, or by both the auditoryprosthesis and client device. For example, in embodiments the clientdevice may perform a method to identify a control expression andinstruct the auditory prosthesis to apply an audio setting adjustment.In such embodiments, client device 702 can transmit instructions to theauditory prosthesis to apply an audio setting instruction viacommunication connection 706.

Communication channel 706, in certain embodiments, is capable ofreal-time or otherwise suitably fast transmission of, e.g., instructionsfrom client device 702 to auditory prosthesis 704. In such embodiments,instructions from the client device 702 based on its processing of acontrol expression and related conversation is received in good time bythe auditory prosthesis 704. If, for instance, such instructions are nottransmitted suitably fast, an audio setting adjustment to auditoryprosthesis 704 might not be made in time benefit the recipient (e.g., intime for the repeat of a conversation fragment the recipient requestedwith the control expression).

The embodiments described herein can be employed using software,hardware, or a combination of software and hardware to implement andperform the systems and methods disclosed herein. Although specificdevices have been recited throughout the disclosure as performingspecific functions, one of skill in the art will appreciate that thesedevices are provided for illustrative purposes, and other devices can beemployed to perform the functionality disclosed herein without departingfrom the scope of the disclosure.

This disclosure described some embodiments of the present technologywith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which only some of thepossible embodiments were shown. Other aspects can, however, be embodiedin many different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments were provided sothat this disclosure was thorough and complete and fully conveyed thescope of the possible embodiments to those skilled in the art.

Although specific embodiments were described herein, the scope of thetechnology is not limited to those specific embodiments. One skilled inthe art will recognize other embodiments or improvements that are withinthe scope of the present technology. Therefore, the specific structure,acts, or media are disclosed only as illustrative embodiments. The scopeof the technology is defined by the following claims and any equivalentstherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting speech proximate arecipient of an auditory prosthesis; obtaining additional informationusing a sensor associated with the recipient; determining an auditoryprosthesis settings adjustment based on the detecting and the additionalinformation; and applying the auditory prosthesis settings adjustment tothe auditory prosthesis.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining the auditory prosthesis settings adjustment is based oncontent of the detected speech, thereby being based on the detecting. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer or acamera.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining thatthe detected speech is from the recipient.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the method is performed by the auditory prosthesis.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a device incommunication with the auditory prosthesis; and wherein the devicecomprises the sensor.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining theauditory prosthesis settings adjustment includes selecting the auditoryprosthesis settings adjustment from a hierarchy of auditory prosthesissettings adjustments.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:reversing the applied auditory prosthesis settings adjustment.
 9. Asystem comprising: a sensor, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer or acamera; at least one processor; and a computer-storage medium encodingcomputer executable instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: obtain sensor data fromthe sensor; determine an auditory prosthesis settings adjustment basedon the sensor data; and apply the auditory prosthesis settingsadjustment to an auditory prosthesis.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinthe computer executable instructions further cause the at least oneprocessor to: detect speech proximate a recipient of the auditoryprosthesis; and wherein the determining of the auditory prosthesissettings adjustment is further based on the detected speech.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the computer executable instructions furthercause the at least one processor to: identify a control expression inthe detected; and wherein the determining of the auditory prosthesissettings adjustment is further based on the control expression, therebybeing based on the detected speech.
 12. The system of claim 9, furthercomprising: the auditory prosthesis.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe auditory prosthesis comprises the at least one processor and thecomputer storage medium.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the computerexecutable instructions further cause the at least one processor to:reverse the applied auditory prosthesis settings adjustment responsiveto a defined period of time passing.
 15. The system of claim 9, furthercomprising: an ancillary device comprising the at least one processorand the computer storage medium, wherein the ancillary device iscommunicatively coupled to the auditory prosthesis via a communicationchannel.
 16. A method comprising: identifying environmental informationabout an environment in which an auditory prosthesis of a recipient isoperating; obtaining additional information using a sensor associatedwith the recipient; determining an auditory prosthesis settingsadjustment based on the environmental information and the additionalinformation; and applying the auditory prosthesis settings adjustment tothe auditory prosthesis.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifyingenvironmental information includes: collecting information about ambientnoise, background noise, or transient environmental conditions.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising: determining that the recipientis traveling at an elevated speed, wherein the determining of theauditory prosthesis settings adjustment is based on the recipienttraveling at an elevated speed.
 19. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising detecting speech proximate the recipient of the auditoryprosthesis; and wherein the determining of the auditory prosthesissettings adjustment is further based on the detected speech.
 20. Themethod of claim 16, wherein applying the auditory prosthesis settingsadjustment includes: adjusting a noise reduction algorithm selection toa more aggressive noise reduction algorithm; increasing amplification ofspeech frequencies; decreasing non-speech frequencies; narrowing a beamof a directionality system to pick up sounds from a focused sound field;applying a wind reduction algorithm; or changing an environmentclassification.